Merits Review
Published 6 Aug 2026
A merits review (often called an ART appeal) asks the Administrative Review Tribunal to look at a Home Affairs decision again and make it afresh. The Tribunal is independent of Home Affairs. It can replace a visa refusal or cancellation with a new decision, or send your case back to be decided again. While a refusal stands and you are still in Australia, the section 48 bar limits what else you can apply for.
You have 28 days from the day you are notified of the decision to apply, or 14 days if you are in immigration detention. Deadlines in migration cases are final: the Tribunal cannot extend them, not even by a day. Your decision letter confirms the exact deadline that applies to you.
The government application fee is $3,727 for most migration reviews from 1 July 2026, and half is refunded if you win. Arta Migration runs ART appeals for a fixed professional fee, quoted before we start.
The deadline in your refusal or cancellation letter is final. The Tribunal has no power to extend it, so check the letter today and count your days from the date you were notified.
What is an ART appeal?
An ART appeal is a full re-hearing of your case, not a complaint about the first decision. A Tribunal member stands in the place of the original visa officer, reads everything fresh, and applies the law to your circumstances as they are at the time of the review.
That last point matters. You can give the Tribunal documents and explanations Home Affairs never saw, and many reviews succeed on evidence that simply was not in front of the original decision-maker.
The Tribunal can decide your case in one of four ways:
- Set aside and substituted — the refusal or cancellation is replaced with the decision the Tribunal considers correct.
- Remitted — your case goes back to Home Affairs with a direction, for example that you meet the requirement the refusal was based on.
- Varied — the decision is changed in part.
- Affirmed — the decision stands. Narrow options remain, covered below.
How long do you have to apply?
The deadline is 28 days from the day you are notified of the decision, or 14 days if you are in immigration detention on that day. Notification is counted from when the law treats you as having received the letter — usually a set number of days after it was sent, not the day you read it.
Your decision letter states the deadline that applies to you. The application fee, in full or half with a hardship request, must also be paid by that same deadline, or the application is not valid.
What does an ART appeal cost?
The application fee is $3,727 for most migration decision reviews, set by the government and indexed each 1 July. If paying it would cause financial hardship, you can ask to pay half. Character-related refusals and cancellations attract the standard $1,195 fee instead.
Half of what you paid is refunded if the decision is set aside, varied or sent back to Home Affairs. There is no refund if the decision is affirmed.
| Fee situation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Standard migration review fee (from 1 July 2026) | $3,727 |
| With an approved financial-hardship reduction | $1,863.50 |
| Character-related refusal or cancellation | $1,195 |
| Refund if the decision goes your way | Half of what you paid |
Our professional fee is separate, fixed, and agreed in writing before you commit. See how our fees work. The Tribunal publishes its full fee rules on the ART fees page.
How long does an ART appeal take?
Half of all migration reviews are currently decided within about 1 year 7 months, and 95 per cent within 2 years 10 months. Times differ sharply by case type: bridging visa reviews take days, while half of partner-visa reviews run past 3 years.
These figures are published by the Tribunal and move month to month. The full table by case type, kept current, is in our guide to the new ART rules for visa reviews.
What happens after you lodge?
- You lodge the application and pay the fee before your deadline.
- The Tribunal confirms the application is valid and calls for your Home Affairs file.
- You build the case — new evidence, statements and written argument answering the reason for refusal.
- You attend a hearing, in person or by video, where the member asks you questions directly. Student visa refusal reviews are the exception: since 1 June 2026 they are decided on the papers, so the written case carries the argument.
- The Tribunal gives its decision and reasons in writing.
What if the Tribunal affirms the refusal?
Two paths remain, and both are narrow. You can ask the Minister to intervene personally, which is granted rarely and only in unique or exceptional circumstances, or go to court, but only for legal error, because a court cannot re-weigh your evidence. Strict deadlines apply to both.
If your visa was cancelled rather than refused, the response options before the case ever reaches the Tribunal matter just as much — see our visa cancellation page.
Eligibility
A decision the Tribunal can review
Most visa refusals and cancellations decided while the applicant is in Australia can be reviewed, along with employer nomination and sponsorship refusals. Some offshore refusals are reviewable where an Australian sponsor or relative stands behind the application.
Your decision letter states whether review rights exist and who may apply. Character-related decisions follow different rules, so take advice before assuming either way.
The right person applying
The visa applicant usually applies if they are in Australia. For many offshore refusals, the Australian sponsor or nominator must apply instead.
An application lodged by the wrong person is invalid — and by the time that is discovered, the deadline has often passed.
Lodged within the deadline
You have 28 days from the day you are notified, or 14 days if you are in immigration detention. The deadline is in your decision letter.
There are no extensions and no exceptions. An application lodged even one day late is invalid.
Fee paid by the deadline
The $3,727 fee (or half of it, with a financial-hardship request) must be paid before the deadline, not just the form lodged. The payment date, not the lodgement date, also decides which year’s fee applies.
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Can I stay in Australia during the review?
Most people who applied for their visa in Australia hold a bridging visa that continues while the review runs. Whether that applies to you depends on your visa situation, especially if your visa was cancelled rather than refused. Check before the deadline.
Can I give the Tribunal new documents?
Yes. The Tribunal decides your case fresh on the material before it, so new evidence, changed circumstances and better explanations all count.
Building that file is most of the work of a well-run review.
Do I need a migration agent for an ART appeal?
No, representation is not compulsory. What it changes is how your evidence is matched to the legal tests the Tribunal member must apply, because reviews are won on the criteria, not on sympathy.
We run ART appeals for a fixed professional fee, agreed before you commit.
What happens at the hearing?
The Tribunal member asks you questions directly, in person or by video, and a free interpreter is arranged on request. Hearings are less formal than a court.
Since 1 June 2026 student visa refusal reviews are decided on the papers instead, so the written case carries the argument.
